The Revolutionary Cultural Eastern Hearths (Devrimci Doğu Kültür Ocakları, DDKO) were an association of mainly Kurdish students in Turkey.
[4] But soon spread its activities to cities in the Kurdish provinces,[5] branches were established in Ergani in November 1970, a month later in Silvan and Kozluk and in January 1971 in Diyarbakır and Batman.
[6] The DDKO received relevant support of the left-wing Turkish Workers' Party (TIP)[6] whose president Mehmet Ali Aslan was a Kurd and in 1969 has condemned a decree of the year 1967 prohibiting the distribution of foreign material in the Kurdish language.
[11] Further he accused the DDKO to have had ties with the left wing of the political party TIP and the Revolutionary Youth Federation of Turkey (Dev-Genç) which shall have led to separatist activities and violence that caused the Military to announce Martial law in 11 provinces.
[10] Other important activists for Kurdish rights arrested were Edip Karahan [ku], Mehdi Zana and Mümtaz Kotan, among others.